


Fatherhood

by LilDucky



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Harry Potter Next Generation, Social Anxiety
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-24
Updated: 2015-10-23
Packaged: 2018-04-27 20:17:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5062633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilDucky/pseuds/LilDucky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dudley Dursley's relationship to his cousin wasn't distant, but it wasn't that close either. They got along fine, but they lived in different worlds. Fic about Dudley coping with his role in his cousin's abuse and how it affects him as he becomes a parent himself and attempts to bridge the gap between himself and Harry (and in doing so, the Wizarding and Muggle worlds.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fatherhood

Dudley Dursley's relationship to his cousin wasn't distant, but it wasn't that close either. They got along fine, but they lived in different worlds. Dudley had gone to Harry's wedding, and as nice as the people there seemed, he had felt very out of place in the sea of witches and wizards- who, quite likely, all recognized him as the great Harry Potter's terrible cousin. He'd spent most of the night avoiding eye contact with everyone and standing in the background, occasionally making short, awkward conversation with the few guests who tried to talk to him. Towards the end of the night, he managed to catch Harry briefly and congratulate him, then excuse himself. He didn't even really meet Ginny Weasley, the bride, although she seemed nice. Funny, too, he guessed, based on snippets of conversation he'd overheard, here and there. In a different setting, perhaps, he could have known her, but not here.

After the wedding, they'd fallen a bit out of touch. Dudley was nervous about initiating contact; the Wizarding world was just too foreign for him. Out of his comfort zone. And he felt silly inviting Harry back to the Muggle world.

A few years later, he met Abigail at a friend's art show. They found themselves feigning interest in the same painting (which was in Dudley's eyes completely incomprehensible) and got to talking. She was someone he found he could talk to very easily, and somehow he ended up telling her about Harry. Not the wizard part of courses; she'd think him insane. But the abuse, the guilt, the regret he felt at not reaching out. He hated who he was back then, and he hated that he was so damn scared about it now. He half-expected to scare her away, but Abigail seemed to understand.

They began to meet more and more, and after only ten months (that felt like a century), Dudley proposed.

He decided to invite Harry to the wedding- after all, Harry had invited him, and he might not even show up. Besides. Reaching out. Making amends. Progress.

He didn't get a reply at first, which he later learned was because of Harry's job. But a few days before the wedding, a letter arrived by owl asking if it was too late to say they were coming, and Dudley, after shaking off his nerves at seeing his cousin again, replied that of course, they were family.

The wedding was magical. For once in his adult life Dudley didn't feel self-conscious about his weight, not with Abigail by his side looking stunning as ever, surrounded by friends and family. His parents weren't there; he had asked them not to come only because he was nervous enough in social situations now that he didn't want to deal with interrogations of his family on top of that. Vernon had been disappointed, angry even, and Petunia had been a little hurt, but they grudgingly agreed.

Dudley was slightly afraid that Harry and Ginny would arrive by magic, causing a scene, and so he felt a rush of relief when he saw the familiar face coming towards him and nobody had panicked. So great was his relief that he didn't notice at first the toddler in Harry's arms, a chubby black-haired little boy in awe of all the lights and colors around him.

“Congratulations, Dudley,” Harry said when they reached him, and Dudley had to quickly scramble to get his head back on straight.

“Thank you,” he replied, and (partially to calm his nerves) put his arm around Abigail. “I don't believe you've met my soon-to-be wife, Abigail?” And to her, by means of introduction, “This is my cousin Harry, and his wife...” He trailed off. _Crap. Her name. What was her name?_

“Ginny,” she offered, giving Dudley an understanding look as she reached out to shake Abigail's hand. “Congratulations to you as well. This must be so exciting!”

The little boy had started tugging on Harry's glasses, and he must've remembered that they hadn't been introduced yet, so as he went through the awkward maneuver of extracting the kid from his glasses while keeping them on his face, he did so.

“Sorry, Dudley, I don't believe you've met this little guy. My son, James. We love him, but he can be a little rascal sometimes.”

This whole interaction, by this point, was making Dudley so anxious he couldn't really respond, other than to give a queasy smile. Fortunately, Abigail was a master of these situations. She filled the void with conversation, and though Dudley couldn't quite follow it through the buzzing in his ears, he could tell it was pleasant and natural.

A few minutes later, Harry and Ginny made to step away, to make room for other guests to give their congratulations, and as they passed Dudley found himself spinning around to follow them. “Harry-”

He stopped, not sure what he was trying to say. Harry turned back and waited.

“Er, I- you-I think-” He paused, took a breath, and found the words. “That kid's lucky to have you for a father.”

He hoped the meaning got through. The apology that he'd already given but never felt like enough. The promise that he'd changed. The belief in Harry. He hoped his cousin understood.

Harry smiled at him. “Thanks, Dud. I'm sure you'll be a great father too.” And then they had vanished into the crowd, and Dudley was drawn back into the new conversation Abigail had started.

Those words stuck with him though. _He would be a good father._ Not something he would have come up with, but if _Harry_ thought so... Harry knew how bad he had been. Did this mean... maybe this meant he really had changed.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading this! :D  
> This is my first fic so please be kind, I am smol and cry easily.*
> 
>  
> 
> *But honest feedback is appreciated, if you have any/are willing. Thank you!!


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